Another Aulani transportation thread

[worldfamous]

Hi Everyone,

I drive a lot for work, really all of the time. On vacation, I really love NOT to have a car. Plus I'm thinking that when I get off of a 10 hour flight, all I want to do is jump in a car...not wait at a counter with 3 kids. Plus we will be there 6 nights and I think we'll have plenty to do at Aulani. I've looked at the offerings in walking distance and they look fine to me.

The only challenge with this is the my nephews (12 and 15) want to go to Pearl Harbor. We have been before, but I want to take them to see it.

So questions...

Can anyone tell me the cost to rent a car for one day at Aulani?
Is this less than taking a car back to Pearl Harbor?
Should I reserve the car in advance? This would be my preference as I'm a planner.

Follow up questions:

Give me your best car service from the airport...
Any tips on reserving Pearl Harbor online....

Thank you!!

 

[mdsd8700]

Hopefully someone else can chime in with more answers to your questions. We are renting a car for our trip so I don't know about car service from the airport. If you are looking for a one day rental Alamo has a counter at Aulani (location code HNLR72). Rates like with all rental cars probably vary. Typically reserving ahead of time will get you a better rate.

We reserved our Pearl Harbor site tours on line at

http://www.recreation.gov/tourParkDetail.do?contractCode=NRSO&parkId=72369

Aulani offers a tour of Pearl Harbor, that will include your transportation. I beleive it includes just the Arizona and not the other sites as well, but I am not completely certain of that. Although you can book them through Disney it is a third party that operates them and payment is due in full at the time of booking. It was about $64 a person, not sure if the prices have gone up.

Enjoy your trip!

 

[snackyx]

We have stayed at Aulani and have visited Pearl Harbor several times. The tour you quoted @ $64/person could get expensive with a family of four. Remember, there is no admission fee for Pearl Harbor, and the exhibits are very self-explanatory--no "tour guide" is really needed. You would, in essence, be paying $256 for transportation from Aulani to Pearl Harbor. You can get private transportation for about $50-60 one way for the entire family--much cheaper...or rent a car for a day.

 

[ChiSoxKeith]

Yeah, Pearl Harbor is really self explanatory when you get there. It is very nicely laid out and admission to the Arizona is free. The other tours at Pearl Harbor (USS Bowfin, USS Missouri, and Pacific Naval Air Museum) are great tours to go on, but again those can be self guided as well.

For the Bowfin (submarine) you get an MP3 device which provides your guided tour. There are little placcards around the boat with track numbers on them. It's AWESOME.

For the Missouri, you can either wander the ship by yourself (what I did) or take a guided tour with a docent. I snooped in on a couple of different tours as I wandered the ship and all the guides were great.

The Pacific Naval Air Museum is the weakest of the places to visit there. But it was worth it for me.

 

[mdsd8700]

We have stayed at Aulani and have visited Pearl Harbor several times. The tour you quoted @ $64/person could get expensive with a family of four. Remember, there is no admission fee for Pearl Harbor, and the exhibits are very self-explanatory--no "tour guide" is really needed. You would, in essence, be paying $256 for transportation from Aulani to Pearl Harbor. You can get private transportation for about $50-60 one way for the entire family--much cheaper...or rent a car for a day.

I agree the prices for the Pearl Harbor tour are expensive through Aulani. I think that can be said of everything they offer Which is why we rented a car and booked our own tickets. I am looking forward to the time we spend there very much.

 

[vpalmer]

There is another way! We booked a private transfer through Mark at Hawaii23 based on a recommendation here and reading good things elsewhere. The cost is $59 each way and since it's a private transfer, it's just you and your party. For our Pearl Harbor day, we are renting from the Alamo desk for around $35 for a mid sized car. Book online, the car will cost more if you go to the desk at Aulani.